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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

I think the following 3 photos are the only photos I've posted on this blog that I did not personally take, but this is a 'visual' blog so I need you to see what I see in my dreams and will soon become a reality:

My husband and I will have the privilege and opportunity to spend 18 months in beautiful New Zealand and the Islands of the Pacific. To be specific, we will be representing our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as Public Affairs Specialists in the Pacific Islands International Public Affairs Mission. Our home base with be in Auckland, New Zealand, but we anticipate spending most of the 18 months traveling and meeting people throughout this area. We do not yet know the extent or scope of our responsibilities, but we do know our primary mission will be to make friends and relationships with the people in these areas in an effort to foster mutual respect and discover ways we can serve and contribute in their communities. Our backgrounds have given us experience in public relations, and we will also receive training before we leave. And we will be leaving on April 11!! Not very much time to get our affairs in order before leaving for a year and a half!! We are both thrilled and terrified at the same time, but mostly thrilled!
Our days will be spent serving the people in the areas we are sent and this will be our focus and work, not photography. My camera, however, will not be left behind and I hope to document all of the exotic places we visit and especially to capture the cultures and lives of the people I know we will grow to love.

As you might imagine, blogging will now take a back seat to preparing for this amazing adventure. I will visit you all when I can, and give you updates on our progress from time to time but will not be blogging regularly. But when our adventure begins, I will keep you all updated on what we are doing, who we are meeting and what we are seeing.

I know many of you are not too familiar with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (Mormon), with the exception of knowing of some of the more famous ones (The Osmonds, Mit Romney, Steve Young, David Archuletta, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and if you are a college basketball fan, you've definitely heard the name Jimmer from Brigham Young University); and I'm also sure you've heard about all the wacko groups that claim to have ties to the Mormon religion, (which they don't). The most important thing for you all to know about the Mormons is that we are Christians. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He came to earth to atone for our sins and be resurrected so that we too, will live again. If you have a question about the Church or how we came to be able to 'serve a mission' for our church, as we say, ask away. I'm happy to answer any and all questions. In fact, I'll answer one before it is asked. No, we did not get to choose where we will serve. There are many ways young men and women and senior couples, can serve. We can suggest what we would like to do, but when we put in an 'application' saying we would like to serve, we are expected to serve wherever and in whatever capacity we are called. But as it turned out, Jeff and I have been given our dream assignment, and so we are anxiously looking forward to the next 18 months with both fear and faith.....but mostly faith!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Here is my February Desktop Image for you to download, enjoy and share, but please do not use for commercial purposes. Just click HERE, then right click to set as your desktop image. It should fill your screen and not be pixelated or blurry. Let me know if you need help.

Have you ever tried to take a photo of a vast landscape or a really tall mountain, and are disappointed because your picture is not nearly as impressive as how the scene looked in person? Size is often hard to capture in photographs. One way to help your viewers see how BIG something is, is to put a person in the composition to add scale. Here my grandson Owen is helping me show the size of this huge arch. Below is my favorite shot of this grand scene.

WELCOME FAMILY, FRIENDS & FELLOW PHOTOGRAPHY LOVERS!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.....and I would add that pictures help us tell stories that will turn into a lifetime of memories. Pictures take us back in time to a special place, event, or help us recall a mood, a feeling, and special times with people we cherish. If you are a fellow PHOTOGRAPHY LOVER, (and aren't we all), I'd love to see what you see, and if you'd like to see more of what I see, CLICK ON MY AVATAR BUTTON TO GO TO MY WEBSITE.

And I quote:

"Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them."---Elliott Erwitt

"To my mind, a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful, and pretty, yes, pretty! There are too many unpleasant things in life as it is without creating still more of them." ---Anguste Renoir,19th Century Impressionist

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Evolution! I'M THERE!

Good for a Laugh!

BACK OFF I'M A PHOTOGRAPHER.... no wait, stay right there, now turn a little leftturn your face toward the sun, tilt your chin down, a little more, a little more, now up, okay, just hold that position,the light should be perfect,in just a couple minutes!